Phillies Win World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies get to be the team to finish the season happy. The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in game 5. The game was suspended on Monday due to rain, and the game tonight was the remainder of the game. Pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins came up with a huge double to start the 6th for the Phillies and would later score in the inning to go up one. In the 7th Rocco Baldelli answered with a homerun to left to tie the game. The Phillies answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the 7th with Pat Burrell doubling and later scoring. Brad Lidge ended the game, yet again with a scoreless ninth inning. Lidge didn't blow a save all season, and he wasn't going to let the clincher in the World Series be his first. For the Phillies, this is their first championship since the 1980 season. Congrats to Charlie Manuel and his team. 

Game 5 stopped due to rain

Game 5 of the World Series is going to take three days to finish. Wow. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th inning, the umpires finally decided to stop the game, in which it was absolutely pouring. I can't blame what MLB decided to do. But it's totally not fair to the players and fans. It's going to be just plain weird for the players to start a game, that's actually quite far into the game. Who does the advantage go to? The Phillies easily. First they are up 3-1. Secondly, they are home during this. The Rays are hurting right now. The series might be over Wednesday night, if they actually get the game in then. I would really love to see the series go back to Tampa. It hasn't been too exciting of a series, but this could be the event that changes it. Who knows. 

week 8 in the NFL

Week 8 in the NFL saw a big win for the Cowboys, a home win in London for the Saints, and a big matchup with the Giants and Steelers. The Cowboys, now at 5-3 faced the Bucs, which seemed like a must win for coach Wade Phillips. With their next two games against division rivals New York and Washington, Dallas couldn't afford to drop to 4-4. Their defense stepped up huge giving up only three field goals. They will have to put more than 13 up on the board in order to beat the Giants next week. The Saints played the Chargers in London at Wembley Stadium. I absolutely hate this idea of playing games out of the country. It makes no sense to me. You end up taking a home game away from a team. So, no team in their right mind wants to play that game. San Diego had to travel halfway across the world to play this game. Just not fair. The big game of the week was the 5-1 Giants against the 5-1 Steelers. The Giants front four won the battle and resulted in the win. The Giant defense put pressure on Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all afternoon. The Giants offense was more consistent and outplayed the Steelers on the road. I believe the Giants are the best team in the NFC and maybe the best in the NFL. 

Top College Teams Stay Perfect

Texas, Alabama, and Penn State all stayed undefeated in their quest to capture a national championship. You have to think Penn State is the driver's seat right now. They don't play another ranked team the rest of the season. They got through their tough test in Ohio State last night 13-6. Texas still has to play Texas Tech, another undefeated team at their place, so that will be a key matchup. Alabama has to win out through the SEC, which is extremely hard to do. It's basically a fight to see who will play Penn State in the national championship. Even though I hate it, I wouldn't be surprised in USC is the team that ends up being there.

Curlin Ends Streak

I don't take much interest in horse racing ever, but Saturday evening I had a little bit of something on the line in Curlin. ESPN has a little competition that has sports fans predict games and situations and try to build a streak. If you correctly predict 25 games/situations in a row, you can win $1,000,000. Yeah, pretty awesome. Well, I started this competition last week and started out a nice 4-0. That was until Curlin screwed me over. A huge favorite in the Breeders Cup couldn't even beat two of the horses he needed to beat in order for me to win. So, even though I was only at four, I know am back to zero. Thanks Curlin. 

Rays Bounce Back with Game 2 Win

James "Big Game" Shields and the Tampa Bay Rays brought the series back to even Thursday night with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Rays used a couple of Phillie errors and fortunate calls in the game to accumulate the win. Tampa led the whole way with timely hitting and great defense. Philadelphia looked lost at the plate and continue to struggle to get hits with men in scoring position. Unless the Phillies' bats come to life, the Rays are going to continue to win these low-run games. Maybe it's just a credit to the Rays' pitchers. I don't know, I'm not facing them. You have to imagine the Phillies playing better at home, and the homefield advantage is now in Philadelphia, a hitters ballpark. This series is even, and the next three in Philadelphia should be close, hard-fought games as were the first two. I don't see either team winning all three, so Tampa has at least one more game to see. I've got the Rays winning game three behind Matt Garza over Jamie Moyer 5-4.

Midterm Project

For the midterm project I used coach John Stig's interview along with a couple postgame photos and audio to make it more presentable. I used the pieces of interview regarding the record attendance and the importance of the win against NDSU. The audio I found was something I thought fit well with interview. It was a song that meant happiness, but also something that captured the ending of the season as well. I thought it went well with the pictures of the seniors and the final picture of the players holding the Dakota Marker. I introduced the questions with text, and also used text to introduce coach Stig. I always enjoy working with sports, so this project was fun. I added the all-blue chromakey in the background to eliminate the nasty green screen. Overall, the project was fun and I continue to learn the processes of final cut express ever time I use it. 

Magic Number 7 Card Trick video

I decided to do my video of me demonstrating a card trick. This card trick isn't really a trick, but mathematics at its finest. The trick finalizes with a card being called and magically appearing. To be honest, I don't know how the math works out, but all I know is the trick is 100%. In the video I wanted the cards to be clearly visible, and I think they are for the most part. The trick had nothing to do with the deck being set up, and I tried to show that before I presented the trick. I like this trick because anyone can do it, even little kids. I show this trick all the time, and no matter who the audience, they seem to be amazed. The best part about magic tricks is the faces from the audience as the trick concludes; there is no better feeling for the magician. In my video I tried to pinpoint the most important things to remember with scrolling text. The trick is pretty straight forward, but can be somewhat complicated to remember all of the small details. Now that I look back, I wish I had done the trick to someone who had never seen it to get a reaction I was speaking about before. But I'll let that mission now go on to you, as you know the magic number 7 card trick. 

Phillies Take Game One

The Phillies outlasted the Rays in game one 3-2. It proved to be a great pitching matchup with Phillies' Cole Hamels facing Tampa's Scott Kazmir. The Phillies got on the board early with a two-run homerun from Chase Utley in the first inning. They only were able to produce one more run throughout the other eight innings. Tampa got on board in the fifth inning with a homerun from Carl Crawford. The game was exciting, but not because of the runs. Both pitchers completed seven innings producing quality starts. Hamels is now 3-0 in the postseason, winning all three opening games in each of the three series for the Phillies. Game two is pivotal for the Rays, as they don't want to head to Philadelphia down 0-2. For Tampa, James Shields will take the mound against Phillies' Bret Myers. I thought the Phillies would win game one, but falter in game two. I'm sticking with that assumption. I've got the Rays winning tonight in game two 6-4. 

World Series Preview

Oh the fall classic is finally here, and we aren't hearing much about it. Why might that be? Oh, I know. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs are no where to be found. This World Series has no hype and may result in some of the lowest ratings in World Series history. Personally, I think it's going to be a great series against the two best teams in baseball right now. Cole Hamels and the Phillies vs. Evan Longoria and the Rays. The hitting advantage goes to the Phillies. The pitching advantage goes to the Rays. The bullpen advantage goes to the Phillies. Home field advantage goes to the Rays. Looks like a pretty even series. But as many baseball experts say, good pitching beats good hitting. And that's the way I'm looking at this matchup. Phillies have Hamels and then their rotation drops off significantly. The Rays will throw Kazmir, Shields, Garza, and Sonnanstine if they have to. The Rays rotation is much better than the Phillies: Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Blanton. So, in conclusion the Rays win. In six. As far as tonight goes, in game one; the Phillies win behind Hamels 5-3. Good day. 

Rodney Harrison Out For Season

Rodney Harrison, safety for the New England Patriots is reportedly out for the season with a torn quad. Harrison suffered the injury Monday night against the Denver Broncos. This injury undoubtedly hurts the Patriots, but it's nothing new for the Patriots to deal with injury. In Week one, the Patriots all-pro quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots way is being able to replace anyone in any spot on the team. The defense is going to have to come up big the rest of the year if the Patriots want a chance at the playoffs. Losing Harrison results in loss of leadership and the capability of big hits in the secondary. Harrison was voted the dirtiest player by the rest of the players in the league, and that legacy may stay with him forever. If Harrison is indeed done for his career he will be remembered as a great player and one of the hardest hitters the games has ever seen. I wish Harrison a speedy recovery and hope to see him play again. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryid=2378529&videold=3655538

Week 7 of the NFL

The Cowboys lost. The Rams won their second straight. Cincinatti remains winless. Tennessee still hasn't lost. The NFL is becoming a league of parity, and I love it. I believe the New England Patriots of 07-08 were good for the NFL as the interest grew, watching and waiting to see if they could do the unprobable. Even though there isn't a team like that this year-no disrespect to Tennessee-parity is a great thing for the NFL. The any given Sunday principle seems to be forgotten sometimes in the NFL. The league is becoming a crapshoot, with every team having the ability to compete every single week. This not only makes all the games more interesting, it will create more interest from fans. Fans may think the lowly St. Louis Rams could beat the highly-touted Dallas Cowboys. Oh wait, that just happened. Even though I compete in a league where I pick the games, it creates a challenge. What use to be a league of good teams and bad, is turning into a league of just teams. The word upset may become less and less used as the season grows. And I like it. 

Rays Overcome Red Sox

For the first time in franchise history the Tampa Bay Rays will play for a title. The Rays found out that the a third time was the charm. Tampa had three games to close out the series, and finally Sunday night before their home crowd, they were able to dethrone last year's champions. Game 7 started in the top of the 1st with a Dustin Pedroia homerun that was the only run in the first four innings. The Rays battled back in the 5th to score two runs on two hits. Matt Garza pitched 7+ in an oustanding performance that proved to be the clincher. Jon Lester pitched seven innings and pitched well enough for the win, but the Red Sox offense could only muster one run. Willy Aybar added a solo homerun in the 7th inning to make the score 3-1. That would be the final. Tampa's bullpen that was awful in game five blowing the 7-0 lead, came up huge in three innings giving up zero runs. My heart was broken to see my Red Sox lose, but it's time for a new champion to be crowned. I'm pulling for the Rays to beat the Phillies. 

Red Sox Don't Quit

I was privileged to have watch game 5 of the ALCS tonight, with the Red Sox at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. Down 7-0 going into the 7th inning, the fans started to go home. But Big Papi, David Ortiz lifted a three-run homer over the right field fence to make it 7-4. In the eighth inning, J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer to make it 7-6. Coco Crisp then singled in another run to make it all sevens heading into the 9th inning. A scoreless top half of the inning sent the Red Sox one run from forcing game six. With two outs Kevin Youkilis reached on an error, Jason Bay walked, and this put the pressure on J.D. Drew yet again. Drew sent a 3-1 pitch over the right fielder Gabe Gross for the game-winning and improbable hit. What a game! I was absolutely stunned yet excited. This was the second biggest comeback in postseason history. Is there two more games in the Red Sox? I don't know, but we'll find out

The Lost Kids of Willows

This is a story about a town of 6,000 in northern California. First there was Brian Parks, a 16 year-old kid, the son of the football coach, the quarterback of the team. The story begins on a hot August day at football practice where Brian took the snap and was knocked down. Not by anyone or anything, but an invisible force. His teammates stood around not knowing what was going on, and finally Curtis Parks, his father, started to give him CPR. On the way to the hospital, Curtis Parks and medics tried to revive Brian, but to no avail. The town was in shock, and held a memorial for Brian. This is just the beginning. Next is the story of Kayla Arnold. Kayla was a friend of Brian's. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, but they were close friends who spent a lot of time together. Kayla had a tough time dealing with Brian's death and visited his grave quite frequently to mourn. As she moved on, Kayla started to get sick. She was losing weight and doctors had her on medications and all was to be well. All was well, until a trip to her aunt's. While spending time with her boyfriend on the beach, Kayla became very ill and was taken to the hospital. Kayla died that night, and the cause of death is still unknown today. Two members of the class of 08' in Willows had died. The story doesn't stop there. Steven Furtado was Brian Curtis's center. He enjoyed working with cars, hunting, and playing golf. He was a typical teenager, just like Kayla and Brian. Steven had a girlfriend who lived a few hours away from Willows and he went to go see her. In the end, Steven and his girlfriend were brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Three of the class of 08' at Willows High School had died. Three seperate vigils were held for each student. A town, supposed to be so safe, so far away from anything exciting happening, had been the source of everything that is unfair. At graduation, a speaker made a memorable statement, "We have no learned, that life is unfair." Indeed it sometimes is. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=willows&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Phillies reach World Series

Last night the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series for the first time since 1993. It's about time says Philadelphia's fans. Brad Lidge closed out the 9th, for the 5-1 victory in Los Angeles. The Phillies now are a perfect 80-0 leading after 8 innings. That's truly incredible; the definition of closing out games. Cole Hamels pitched seven innings, giving up one earned run, a homerun to Manny Ramirez. If only Manny could have gotten some help this series, the Dodgers may have had a chance. The Phillies have been the most consistent team in the postseason and have a great shot at winning it all. What makes this run even more special for the team is manager Charlie Manuel going through a personal tragedy of his own. During the series his mother passed away, but Manuel knowing what his mother would have wanted, managed anyway. Those are the stories you love to seen in sports. People overcoming adversity. There are so many great stories in sports, but a lot of them don't have anything to do with the game itself. 

Seinfeld

My favorite show is Seinfeld, without a doubt. It makes me laugh every single time I see it. I'm currently watching it, and just have to smile. I encourage everyone to watch it whenever possible and check out seinfeld.com for scenes and everything there is to the show. I've seen every episode at least three times, maybe even more. I'm a hardcore fan with all the DVD's and could probably answer just about any trivia question there is. I still am calling for a Seinfeld channel that would be on 24/7. It's a great idea, and I hope by the time I die, Seinfeld will be all day, every day!

seinfeld.com

Rays Rout Red Sox

Tuesday night was another bashing of Red Sox pitching. The young, inexperienced Rays pounded the Red Sox for a third straight time. Tim Wakefield couldn't get through three batters without giving up a homerun. Carlos Pena went opposite field over the Green Monster to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. Evan Longoria, candidate for Rookie of the Year in the American League, made it back-to-back homeruns with another shot over the monster. This was the start to 13 runs on the night. The Red Sox could never muster up any momentum as the Rays took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Now I would count the Red Sox out, but they were in the same exact position last year against the Cleveland Indians. Even though I love my Sox, I don't believe they can beat the Rays three straight times.

NFL week 6

NFL's week six provided a lot of excitement. The Rams and Texans, previously winless finally won a game. Congrats to them. The Rams beat the Redskins, who were 4-1 and one of the hottest teams in the NFL. The Texans beat the rising team in the Miami Dolphins. Another upset happened Monday night with the Cleveland Browns beat the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Eli Manning struggled and that correlates to the Giants losing, as it has been the since he's been their quarterback. Tony Romo is going to be gone for four weeks with a broken right pinky, leaving veteran Brad Johnson under the center. Now unless the team didn't have the weapons they do, I would be concerned, but I have confidence in Johnson. He's bee around forever, and I have cheered for him when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. He has a super bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My fantasy teams went 2-1 this week. My flag football team lost a tough game, but the week of football was a good one and usually never disappoints me. 

Rays take one game lead over Boston

My beloved Boston Red Sox lost a heart-breaker in game two, and then just have no life or energy and get pounded in game three. The Rays simply look like the veteran playoff team, while Boston looks like they are scared in the big moment. It's getting hard for me to watch. Two of my favorite Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz are a combined 0-24 in the series. Now the one and three hitters for a team are supposed to hit .300. Straight up, a team cannot win with two of their best hitters going hitless. The Rays are playing inspired baseball, and unless Matsuzaka can pitch another gem, the Red Sox are doomed. The bottom of the Boston lineup is going to have to step up or the Rays are going to win the World Series. The Rays are a fantastic story, and unless the Red Sox weren't the team they were playing, I would be on the Rays bandwagon for sure. But until the Red Sox are not in the picture, they will have my loyalty. 

Phillies one game away from the World Series

My national league pick, the Dodgers, are not backing my word. With a lead in the eighth inning in game four, they allowed a game-tying homerun that shattered any momentum they were going to have in the last inning. I picked the Dodgers in six games, and now that's impossible to accomplish. Phillies are just out-hitting the Dodgers. Manny can't do it himself. Now the series heads back to Philadelphia where ace Cole Hamels will pitch for the Phillies. The series is over, and I'm ready to allow the Phillies to take their place in the World Series. 

Phillies take 2-0 lead over Dodgers

The Phillies behind Brett Myers took a 2-0 lead against the Dodgers Friday night. Besides picking up the win, Myers had 3 rbi to spark the win. This game was huge for the Phillies to hold home-field advantage, and tough for the Dodgers as very few teams have come from down 0-2 to win a series. I expect the Dodgers to come out on Sunday and play inspired ball in front of the home crowd. I'm watching the Red Sox and Rays right now, and it's a nice pitching duel. The advantage might go to the Rays as they are home; in a close ball game, the home team has a distinct advantage. On a personal note, I'm in Louisville, Kentucky playing tennis at the Louisville Tennis Invitational, and the teams there are good, really good. Wow.

espn.com

Phillies vs. Dodgers Game One

Well the Phillies took down game one against the Dodgers, mainly because Manny Ramirez's double was hit as far as possible without being a homerun. Ramirez's double hit the top of the fence in centerfield, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Utley responded later in the game with a two-run homerun to tie the game up. Pat Burrell followed later in the sixth inning with a homerun himself to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead they wouldn't relinquish, as Brad Lidge closed the deal yet again. Both pitchers had decent starts. Hamels, the winning pitcher went seven innings giving up two runs on six hits. Lowe, the losing pitcher went five and 1/3 giving up two earned runs over six hits. It's important for the Dodgers to win game two, so they don't go home down 0-2, and more importantly make my prediction look better!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameld=6498273670614248110

Dodgers vs. Phillies

I read a little article from Rob Neyer, who thinks the Phillies will be the team to represent the National League in the World Series. I respectfully disagree. Neyer points out that since the Manny Ramirez trade, the Dodgers have gone 30-25, while the Phillies have gone 34-21. This really doesn't mean much to me. I guess the Phillies have played a little bit better than the Dodgers in the past 55 games. Ramirez brings the threat of going long every time he enters the batters box. Ryan Howard is kind of the same way for the Phillies, but he doesn't hit for the average that Ramirez does. The key to this series is how the Phillies pitch to Ramirez. If Ramirez gets looks at pitches, I like the Dodgers; simple as that. However, if the Phillies make the rest of the Dodgers beat them, I like the Phillies. Ramirez is the MVP of the Dodgers, as Brad Lidge is the MVP for the Phillies. He hasn't blown a save all year, which is outstanding. If we get to see Lidge four or more times in the series, the Phillies will win. However, my pick is with the Dodgers. They are playing extremely well right now under manager Joe Torre. Dodgers in six!

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=6498273670613248110

Rays vs. Red Sox

The division series are over, and the trip to the World Series is just four games away. I would like to first dive into the the ALCS featuring two AL East teams: Red Sox and Rays. The teams battled the whole second half of the season, with the Rays finally prevailing. The Rays won the season series vs. Red Sox 10-8, but you can throw that out the door. The key to this series is the bullpen from each team. I expect the games to be close going into the 7th, 8th, 9th innings. The Rays weren't really challenged to a close game with the White Sox, while the Red Sox prevailed in 3 of 4 close games against the Angels. I give the bullpen advantage to the Red Sox with Papelbon being the most valuable player in the series. Red Sox starting pitching is much better than the Rays as well. With Matsuzaka, Lester, and Beckett, it will be tough to win more than two games against these three. The only advantage I see for the Rays is home-field advantage. The Rays play extremely well at home, but the Red Sox experience neutralizes that. So, without further prevail, my pick is the Red Sox in 6 games. Who they will play, I will pick tomorrow. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=36301

Ryan Berry Interview

This Friday in lab we learned how to edit audio, text, and furthered our education with the chromakey. Using Ryan Berry, the quarterback of the football team, we were able to form subclips into our video. We also learned how to create text in the video, and the effects of where to use it and what kind of font to use. We also learned how to link and delink the video from the audio creating audio before and after the video itself. These tools will be essential as the semester progresses.

ALDS/NLDS predictions

Okay, my twins selection didn't go over well, but they only lost by one. It was an ugly performance from them offensively, but Chicago's pitcher John Danks deserves more than full credit. 

Now, the with the playoffs set, I will select the "Final Four".

Red Sox over the Angels in four games. 

Rays over the White Sox in five games.

Cubs over the Dodgers in five games.

Phillies over the Brewers in four games. 

ALCS= Red Sox vs. Rays

NLCS= Phillies vs. Cubs

I'm not going to make my World Series prediction yet, but once the championship series begins, I will.